1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to rope or cable winches and in particular to a new and useful winch design having an effective simple and lightweight gear reduction, clutch assembly and braking device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rope or cable winches have been known which are operated by a motor and generally consist of a support, of a rope or cable drum positioned on said support, of a reduction gear comprising either a worm drive or several jackshafts, an intermediate clutch and a braking device.
The complexity and size of the prior art winches made small lightweight winches adapted for portability, difficult to manufacture.
Besides these rope and cable winches having integral driving motors, annex cable winches have also been known for attachment to the motor of a chain saw. It is evident that these attachment devices also have all the elements mentioned above, so that the weight and volume of the supplementary winch apparatus exceeds of that the chain saw motor. These devices in particular should be easy to handle and to transport, as their main application, namely working and removal of tree trunks, requires a considerable mobility on the part of the operating personnel and devices.